22 April 2003
TV STATION OWNER MURDERED
Dmitri Shvets, co-owner and deputy managing director of an independent television station in Murmansk, northwest Russia, was shot and killed outside his offices by an unknown assailant on 18 April, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
At press time, it was not clear whether Shvets was murdered because of his work as a journalist. He was also a prominent businessman who owned shops and a night club in Murmansk, as well as being a political advisor to regional governor Yuri Evdokimov, RSF notes.
In 1990, Shvets helped found TV-21 Northwestern Broadcasting, the first independent television station in the region. In March 2003, journalists at the station were issued a warning by mayoral candidate Andrei Gorshkov who threatened to sue the station if they broadcast an interview of him, RSF says. Ahead of the city elections in 2004, TV-21 has been airing coverage critical of the Murmansk government and of political candidates .
Visit these links:
- CPJ: www.cpj.org">http://www.cpj.org/news/2003/Russia18apr03na.html">www.cpj.org
- RSF: www.rsf.org">http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=6284">www.rsf.org
- Associated Press: www.kansascity.com">http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5667665.htm">www.kansascity.com
- Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations: www.cjes.ru
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